Arcana Encyclopaedia

Biography

Born July 13, 1865, in A Coruna, Galicia, Spain, to a Spanish mother and a French father. The family moved to Paris when he was four. As a young man, he spent extensive time at the Bibliotheque Nationale studying Kabbalah, alchemy, and the writings of Eliphas Levi. He adopted the pseudonym 'Papus' from the Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana, where it refers to the genius of medicine — reflecting his dual dedication to healing and esoteric philosophy.

Despite heavy involvement in occultism, Encausse pursued a conventional medical education at the University of Paris, receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1894. He opened a successful clinic and maintained parallel medical and occult careers throughout his life. He was the central organizing figure of the late 19th-century French occult revival: co-founding the Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix in 1888, founding the modern Martinist Order in 1891, and engaging with the Theosophical Society.

In 1889, at only 24, he published 'Le Tarot des Bohemiens,' arguing that tarot originated in ancient Egypt and was transmitted to Europe by the Romani people. The book systematized correspondences between tarot, Kabbalah, and numerology in a way that became hugely influential, even though its historical claims are not supported by evidence. When World War I broke out, Encausse joined the French army medical corps. He contracted tuberculosis and died in Paris on October 25, 1916, at age 51.